The opening scenes of First Man immediately throw the audience into the cockpit with Neil Armstrong and his fellow test pilots, as they break record after record – hurtling beyond the stratosphere in shaky metal prototypes that can barely take the strain.

In early December, Thea and I were guests at the ISSUU Generator Summit in New York City, a conference for publishers, activists, content creators, and change makers – basically, all the »generators« who create content today.

Ever wonder, “Why are my knees making cracking noises when I walk down the stairs?” Or, “Why can’t I wear high heels like I used to without getting pain in my toes?” But mostly, “Hey Doc, can you please wave your magic wand and get rid of these wrinkles on my forehead?” To which his answer is usually, “I’m sorry to tell you, but it happens to all of us: It’s called aging.” As we age and grow wiser, we have likely noticed the days of underperformance were the days our diet suffered. Or, the days we easily lose focus were the same days we put off our normal exercise routine. Mental health and physical health are concordant; one simply cannot exist without the other.

There’s an unlikely yet important starting point from which to understand the Martin Luther King Jr. story. Traditionally, his story is told via the events of Montgomery, Alabama in 1956, where Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat to a white patron on a bus – an act that led to a large-scale demonstration against segregation, which thrust Dr. King into the spotlight. Another often chosen starting point is the Harlem book signing in 1958, when a well-dressed 42-yearold woman stabbed the reverend in the chest with a letter opener. But a more obscure moment that emboldened the lauded civil rights activist begins in Ghana – not exactly an obvious choice when considering the shaping of this American icon. In 1957, a year after that famous bus boycott, Dr. King – an advocate for social justice, equality and dialogue – travelled to the African nation to witness its independence celebrations. He was invited there by its newly elected prime minister Kwame Nkrumah. Ghana had just become a Republic under Nkrumah’s guidance, and in the process became the first nation to gain independence from European colonialism.